We who research our family's history are good at remembering. We remember often and we remember well. But, our memories last for only as long as we are here. The purpose of this project is to organize volunteers who will work together to create a lasting tribute to our ancestors. We will transcribe tombstone inscriptions and have that work archived for the future and made easily accessible to all.
The tombstones of our ancestors were always meant to be lasting memorials to the lives of those gone before. Lately, I have been visiting old cemeteries and have been distressed to see how these memorials are suffering the ravages of time and weather. Many of these stones are becoming difficult to read and some have already gotten so faint that deciphering them is next to impossible. Fortunately, many are still legible TODAY. But, of those we can read today, how many will still be legible ten or twenty years from today?
WE need to record these tombstone inscriptions now---before they are lost forever to the winds and the rains. Though many cemeteries have already been recorded by various Genealogical Societies, just as many have not. And, of those recorded, how accessible is that data to the world? If we join together and do this recording, we will guarantee that our ancestors an not forgotten----that their memorials will live on so that future generations may remember then as well as we do.
What Can YOU do?
You CAN participate in this project, even if you live thousands of miles from the graves of your ancestors. If you live in California and your ancestors sleep in Virginia, you can record tombstone data in a cemetery near where you live. If you are in Texas and your ancestors sleep in Maine, record a Texas cemetery.
After the recording is done, the data should be donated to The USGenWeb Project Archives for the appropriate state. If you have already compiled tombstone information, you can donate that to the project. Having this data archived in a repository like The USGenWeb Project Archives will make this information accessible to the world. Many can benefit and the memories can be multiplied many times over. If you don't know how to donate this information, email me and I will help.
